In its rush to approve new ‘natural’ food colourings to replace artificial petroleum based dyes (manufacturers are being asked to voluntarily remove these from food and drink as part of the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign), regulators have hit some resistance. The Food and Drudg Administration (FDA) have indefinitely delayed approval for ‘beetroot red’ as a natural food dye and the expansion of use of spirulina extract after criticism these new additives may not be safe, despite initial approval in February 2026.
The advocacy group GMO/Toxin Free USA claims the version of beetroot red that the FDA has provisionally approved is synthetically produced and potential carcinogenicity hasn’t been ruled out. GMO/Toxin Free USA1 claim that the Beetroot red dye produced by the manufacturer Phytolon has been developed using an extreme form of genetic engineering known as Synthetic Biology (SynBio).
The advocacy group claim that ‘The company, on its website, claims the dye is “non-GMO” and “natural”. This is false and misleading. Phytolon’s Beetroot Red dye would not qualify for certification by the Non-GMO Project, nor would it be allowed in USDA Certified Organics’.
In a separate complaint the objector against spirulina extract was Obelisk Tech Systems a national defence and cybersecurity contractor who made a range of complaints about the national security, recordkeeping, and public health implications of expanding the approved uses for spirulina extract in human foods.
As reported in Food Safety magazine2, Obelisk Tech Systems claimed that as “spirulina extract is predominantly manufactured in China that approving ‘human foods generally’ use of a color additive with a China-dominant supply chain… creates a national security food supply vulnerability under the Defense Production Act.”
They also claim that the safety data considered for this additive is inadequate, particularly in relation to cumulative exposure, additive contamination with cadmium, and around approval for use in children’s food categories.
1 https://toxinfreeusa.org/is-beetroot-red-food-dye-a-bait-and-switch/
2 FDA Delays Approvals for ‘Natural’ Food Dyes Due to Stakeholder Objections | Food Safety Magazine
